Posted on 03/09/2018 9:12:29 PM PST by BenLurkin
On Wednesday night, many Washington residents were greeted by a loud and unexpected sight: a big fireball that lit up the sky. Witnesses reported hearing a loud, booming sound; others reported shaking as the fireball whizzed through the sky. Officials were both surprised and confused by the sudden appearance, later reaching out to the FAA and other agencies in an effort to figure out what caused it.
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Witnesses say the fireball was spotted as far north as the Vancouver region and as far south as Portland. According to Johnson Space Centers Dr. Marc Fries, this was one of the largest bolide meteors to make an appearance in the last two decades. The meteor is estimated to have been about the size a minivan when it entered the atmosphere, burning up so that by the time it hit the ocean, only a brick-sized chunk remained.
(Excerpt) Read more at slashgear.com ...
It's possible that they were originally part of the same, larger object, leaving them on similar orbits -- but it's more likely that they're not. It would be better for us if they were -- since the alternative is, there are lots and lots of different unrelated objects to rain down on poor little old us. My Roku handed me a related YouTube vid that I watched, the narrator was claiming (based on thin air) that all of the then-recent objects (not sure of the age of the vid) were part of the same stream of debris. The annual meteor showers (like the Perseids) were shed by specific comets and once in a while there will be a really good storm from a known stream. Another thing that happens is, an annual stream will die out for years, then roar back to life without any warning. That's not particularly good news either, when ya think about how there could be some big-assed bolides in those streams, and the Earth crosses those streams every year...
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